As the Sun rises
by Jazyrha
Summary: As certain as another day shall start, as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow, I shall always love Piccolo and he'll always be there for me. Because sometimes, all it takes to be truly happy is being irrational and believing. /Piccolo&Gohan Friendship/


**As The Sun Rises**

The sky is endless. Endless, stretching on forever. As far as my black eyes can see there is colour. There is nothing that can end it; no end, no border, no wall.

There is just orange. Warm, comforting orange.

The sun peeks over the edge of the world and I almost want to jump up, wave happily, and greet it, but the eye that looks at me sarcastically keeps me from doing so. Piccolo's always looking at me like that when I do 'weird' things.

"It's pretty," I cheer, as to explain.

My newly-dubbed, green friend looks up for a moment, opening both his eyes. He doesn't answer, but I catch the look softening as he stares at the orange.

The sun crawls higher, endlessly, strongly, certainly. Slowly it crawls higher and higher. The clouds are pierced by its orange light, sunrays dancing in the wind.

"I love the sunrise," I smile again.

"You shouldn't be awake yet," my mentor, my only companion for the time being, reprimands me, his voice uncaring and cold.

I don't understand how Piccolo isn't smiling and leaning back, letting the sunrays warm his face. I guess it's just not something he does.

"But I wanted to see the sunrise," I protest softly.

My breath is taken away by the beauty of the sun.

Piccolo just looks at me. Something like a smile ghosts over his lips for a second and then it's gone. It's enough to make me happy.

It's a beautiful simplicity. It's a breathtaking fact.

And then the day starts. The dawn jumps in, the twilight ends, and the day starts in all its glory.

We spar, train, and I get beaten to the point that every inch of my body hurts (but I was able to land at least three punches!). The smile doesn't leave my face, and Piccolo doesn't give me that annoyed look like he used to.

Shifting uncomfortably and grimacing from pain I bite into another apple. Piccolo sits nearby, pretending to be meditating. I know he's pretending, since I can feel how he sometimes opens an eye when he thinks I don't notice. But he's the one who's training me, and he's training me into seeing everything, into knowing it all, and I want to him to be proud of me.

"Mister Piccolo?" I ask innocently.

"What now, kid?" He answers as if he's annoyed, opening one eye to glare at me.

I don't even flinch. I don't understand why people would be scared of such a glare, because even if Piccolo is sometimes a bit short-tempered and a bit violent, (only a bit, I swear), he doesn't really hurt anyone without reason. He's just not like that.

Piccolo is a good person, no matter what he says. No matter how much he'd growl at me when I tell him so.

I really like Piccolo.

"Can you make the sun rise again?" I look at him full of anticipation.

Piccolo can do everything. I really believe that. He's untouchable, high above everyone. He's like the wind that you feel before it's gone again. He's some kind of god in my eyes, even though he'd think I'm a moron if I tell him that.

Piccolo keeps his other eye closed and looks at me as if I've lost my mind.

"Make the sun rise again?" He repeats.

"Yeah! Since, I figured, you're really strong and you're really cool! You can do everything! And I think the sunrise is so pretty! It's sooooooo beautiful! So, I thought that… if you want, of course, you could make it rise again!"

I'm slightly aware that I was rambling.

Piccolo keeps silent for a moment. I think he considers shouting at me how foolish I am. I prepare myself mentally to be yelled at. But for some weird reason he gives me a half-smile and answers, "Yeah, I'll make the sun rise again. Tomorrow, okay?"

"YEAH! I can't wait!"

For the rest of the day I hum happy songs and keep smiling, no matter how much my body hurts. I don't think I've ever been this happy.

- - -

_You don't know why you did that. You have no frigging idea why in the world you did that. But you did and there's no turning back._

_You know somewhere in the back of your mind that you shouldn't have lied. You know that he'll find out with all the books he's reading, with all the study he has to do. You know that when he finds out you lied to him his oh-so-very fragile heart will break and you'll have to deal with the sniffing, the crying, and the tears._

_Great job at smashing yourself head-first into this giant mess._

_There's no single reason why you didn't shout at him, why you haven't told him that the sun just rises because it does, and you cannot help or say anything in that progress at all._

_What's next? Asking you to make the world turn around the other way?_

_But, you promise yourself as you softly ruffle the little kid's hair as he sleeps, next time you won't lie to him, even if that lie makes him happier than the truth._

_Or at least that's what you meant to do, until you woke him up and whispered that he should look because you're going to make the sun rise._

_The smile he gives you is one that could outshine the sun, and your heart skips an unheard beat before life continues._

- - -

"… Mister Piccolo?"

"What is it, kid?"

"They're coming soon, aren't they?"

"Hm."

"Mister Piccolo … I'm scared."

It stays silent for a while.

"Hey, kid."

"Yes?"

"No matter what happens, the sun will rise."

The fear replaces itself with happiness and the frown with a smile.

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

And I'm not scared anymore, because even if the world dies and crumbles underneath my feet soon, the sun will rise. And that means that Piccolo would be there to make it rise, which means there's nothing left to fear.

I might be a coward, but Piccolo is brave, and together I'm sure we can survive anything.

- - -

_You await the day Gohan will turn back to you and will ask you why you lied to him with fear. _

_You know the day will come, and you know you won't be able to explain. You know you will never be able to say 'because you smiled as if it would change the world.'_

_You would never be able to tell him that the sun rises just because it does, and not because you're doing it for him._

_You'd never be able to say that if you _could_, you _would_ make the sun come up only for him anyway._

- - -

When the blinding lights subside and my ears register the lack of screaming, I, for the first time in my life, feel my heart break and shatter. It hurts, so much to the point I can't feel anything anymore. It slices through me, cuts me open, rips me apart and I cannot even scream.

There is nothing, because soon there won't be Piccolo anymore.

My protector, my guardian, my best friend, my sunrise falls onto the ground, the strength to stand any longer already gone. I don't believe I ever felt the tears burn behind me eyes so painfully, yet refusing to fall down. It hurts. Oh, God, it hurts. And there's nothing that will be able to stop the pain if he closes his eyes.

I never believed Piccolo could actually be hurt.

Piccolo is the one that made the sun rise. He was untouchable, like some sort of angel, and angels don't get killed.

They _**don't**_ just _**die.**_

There won't be anyone in the world who will ever be able to explain to me why Piccolo just did the impossible. I don't remember much, except his final words where I was called a friend, dancing through my head.

They never left after that.

I don't remember much. Like always when I get so sad or mad I completely lose myself. This time I lost myself from the moment he closed his eyes. I don't remember much, but I remember how it felt when the world turned black and all the hope that the sun would ever rise again died together with my heart.

I remember how much it hurt, and I vow to myself I'll never let that happen again.

- - -

_You're not sure whether you lost your mind or whether you'll loose it. You're not sure about a lot anymore, even if it never really shows. _

_But the thing you do know for sure is that you cannot let that kid die. _

_Whether that's because he's the only one who ever cared, who ever smiled to you, who ever said silly things without fear, who ever looked into your eyes without flinching, you don't know for sure either._

_But even if it is it your life that will be ended because of it, you're not going to let that smile disappear. You're not going to lose the only thing you ever had._

_So when you feel the life pouring from every inch of you, slowly dripping away from you, and you feel his fear, his anguish, his already coming loneliness, there's not much you can say to explain why you did what you did._

_You hope that Gohan knows that the sun will come up tomorrow too, and it will shine just as bright as it did before you closed your eyes. Because it always does. _

- - -

"Kid…"

"Don't die, don't die! Don't, don't, don't..."

"Kid..."

"No! No! No! _**Please**_don't leave me alone! Why did you do that?! Why, why, _**why**_**?!"**

"Kid, stop the whining…"

"B-But…"

"The sun will shine."

"… _**Please don't leave**__."_

"I'll make… the sun… rise."

"_**NO**__! _Do-Don't! Don't close your eyes_! Oh GOD! __**Pleasepleasepleaspleasplease don't**_leave_**me!"**_

"I'll … make … it rise … so you won't have … to be… alone."

"_**NO! PICCOLO! OPEN YOUR EYES! Don't… leave…"**_

- - -

_And just like that the world stopped turning for a second. Just like that everything was gone. Just like that, everything vanishes into the dark._

- - -

I don't eat anymore. I don't eat and I don't smile. I don't want to be Gohan anymore, and I don't want to study. I don't want to pretend everything's okay, because it's not.

Without Piccolo, the world surely isn't okay.

If I had only been stronger, only been a little more like him, he wouldn't have died. There wouldn't have been any reason for him to jump in front of me to protect me. If I had only been as strong as he had wanted me to be I'm sure I could've saved him.

And then we could've been happy. Together. Somehow.

My mum has tried everything from crying to shouting to lecturing to ignoring. But I don't really want to listen. Mum doesn't like Piccolo anyway, so she gets angry when I feel sad because of him.

The world is dark and I'm scared that the sun will never rise again. Without Piccolo the world is just one big scary place, and I'm not sure who's going to be there when I'm in danger. I'm not so sure who's going to make the sun rise again now that Piccolo is gone.

I don't want to be alone. I don't ever want to be alone.

I can't sleep either. I just want the world to lighten up. I want the world to be not so scary.

I don't want to feel as alone as I do.

I smile softly as I think of how much Piccolo would be annoyed at my behaviour, at how he'd shout at me to 'snap out of it', would grunt and groan and roll his eyes and ignore my pleas and cries. He wouldn't show any mercy, because there was nothing that needed it in the first place.

But Piccolo left me alone, so I can do as I please and I want to be a child. It's my own rebellion of useless protest.

I want Piccolo to be there and tell me it's alright, because he's the only one I'd believe.

Sick and tired of turning and tossing in my bed, I roll out of it, not caring how hard I'd hit the ground. I don't hit it that hard either way. Piccolo has made me hit the ground much harder, and I sometimes think that I should've been angry for that, but I wasn't back then and I'm not now.

I stare at the sky. It's empty and there's nothing. I stare at the black, the stars too dull to light it up. The stars are just useless dots, and unlike when I was with Piccolo, lost and not-lost in some strange jungle in the middle of nowhere but where I belonged, I don't love them.

I just hate them for shining when there's nothing to shine for.

Soon I'm not looking at the stars anymore, my eyes gazing at a far off past, memories that make me smile. I don't know how my heart can still beat, for I'm sure it must be crushed underneath the guilt, the pressing pain of loneliness.

I don't know why the sky fills with orange.

I don't know why the sun rises.

And then I remember and I know.

Piccolo is still somewhere looking out for me, and almost as if I was stricken by lightening, I smile again.

As long as the sun rises, I'll never be truly alone.

- - -

_It's more than make-believe. It's more than just trusting. It's more than just needing. It's more than just being friends. It's more than being Piccolo and Gohan. _

_It's more than the world, more than the blood you shed for each other. It's more than knowing each bone you break is one for him. It's more than knowing you'll never be completely at peace unless you know he's perfectly safe. _

_It's more than the reason why the sun rises. It's more than the reason to live._

_It's so much more than you'll ever be able to put in words._

- - -

I don't think I've ever been so scared. My dad isn't there to look out for me. Neither is Piccolo.

I'm alone, utterly and completely alone. I'm Gohan and just that. I'm nothing more, because there is no one who keeps telling me I can be so much more than I am.

I'm so scared this Frieza thing will kill me and I'll be utterly useless. I'm scared that I'll disappoint Piccolo.

I'm so scared the sun will never rise again.

I don't want the world to turn black. Don't want the sun to fade. Don't want to die, die, die.

- - -

"Hey Krillin…"

"Yeah, Gohan?"

"Do you think the sun rises here, too?"

"Yeah, sure it does. I think it does. Why wouldn't it?"

"Because Piccolo never came to this planet."

- - -

The planet shakes underneath my feet. I'm still alone, and the planet moans in pain. The wind cries in horror and the planet is being ripped apart like a paper heart.

Every inch of my body hurts.

I'm going to die. It's no longer something distant, something like a bad nightmare. I'm going to die and I'm going to let everyone down.

The planet shakes and shakes, trembling under the murderous intent of Frieza's heart. I can almost feel the pain of the planet itself, the fear and the salty taste of death.

And then, amidst the horror and the pain, in the middle of hell, I can see the sun rise through my half-lidded, almost-tearstained eyes. I can feel the hope plant a little seed in my chest. I can feel myself standing up.

Everything will be alright. Because the sun still shines and Piccolo will be there to save me.

One way or another.

- - -

_The feeling of being back alive is one you never thought you'd like as much as you do. But you're alive, with a reason, a _good _reason. You'll protect that little kid, that smiling thing, that unstoppable source of happiness. You'll protect him, even if that means you'll die again._

_He's everything and he's even more. He's the reason you'd want the sun to come up, why the sound of your own heartbeat doesn't sound as empty as it did before._

_The world flies past you, nothing more than a blur to you. It's your home, but it's not. _

_The only place that'll ever be home for you is where Gohan is. No matter how much you would've rolled your eyes at such a thought before._

_So, you come to a sudden stop and he's there. That boy's there and his eyes are filled with hope, happiness, and all those emotions that don't belong on a battlefield at all._

- - -

"Piccolo!"

"Hey, kid."

"I knew you'd come! I knew everything would be okay! The sun rose, Piccolo! You made the sun rise again!"

"… Of course I did."

- - -

The world is covered in white. The trees lost their leaves, and the ground is so frozen I sometimes slip just walking on it. It's cold and the windows are closed. My dad is making a fire in the living room. I'm supposed to study in my room.

The book lays before me, the pages flipped open. It's rare for things to be peaceful. Rare to be studying, actually.

I can't concentrate, since I'm away from Piccolo. I draw something like him (and I'm sure he'd kill me if he ever saw my drawn impression of him) in the corner of my book. Shaking my head, I try to focus myself back onto the task at hand.

I'll survive one day without Piccolo. Or at least I hope so. Piccolo'd roll his eyes if he ever heard me thinking that.

The book is about astronomy: planets, the moon, the sun. I smile at how perfectly fitting Piccolo's drawing is as I read as title 'Sunrise.'

He's my sunrise. And he'll always be.

"Because atmospheric refraction causes the sun to be seen while it is still below the horizon, both sunrise and sunset are optical illusions. The sun also appears larger on the horizon, but this is another optical illusion, similar to the moon illusion."

I stand up and my book crashes through my window in one swift movement. Glass shatters and makes a high sound when it falls onto the ground. My breath is fast and I watch the book laying in the snow as if I was watching my worst enemy.

It's not an illusion! It's not fake!

"Gohan!"

My dad sounds like he's worried.

So I turn around and give him something to be worried about.

"Piccolo doesn't lie to me!"

It's the only thing that matters, so the only thing I choke out. My dad holds me sobbing in his arms. He stares at the window, the book that I will never look in again, and then at me again.

"Of course he doesn't," is what he answers then. "He wouldn't."

"No, no, he wouldn't!" I agree. "Piccolo makes the sun rise. And that's not some optical illusion."

I think I killed my dad with the word 'optical.' He still holds me, however, and the cold rushing to meet me through my broken window isn't as bad as the cold in my heart.

Piccolo wouldn't lie to me.

- - -

"Piccolo!"

"Hey kid."

Silence. Sad look.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

"Don't even try to pretend. Spit it out or go sulk somewhere else."

Soft hint of a smile.

"My book lied. So I threw it out of the window. Dad was worried. Then a bit angry. Mom was just angry. A lot."

"… What did your book say?"

"That the sunrise is an illusion."

Silence.

"But I know it's not! Because you wouldn't fool me with an illusion. You make the sun rise."

"Hm."

Silence.

"Kid, you can stop sulking now."

"Y-Yeah. Piccolo… I was wondering."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come to my birthday party?"

"You've asked me this for six years and I've always gave you the same answer."

"I know. But I'll never stop hoping you'll say something else."

A chuckle. A happy laugh.

And with that I forget that he isn't going to show up.

- - -

_It's not like you don't want to be near his side. It's not that you want to lie to him. It's not like you're like this because you like it. You're just the way you are because you are, and most of all because he made you like that._

_But he smiles, he still smiles and that makes everything alright, really._

_As long as he smiles, you're okay with lying to him. It's okay if he believes you make the sun rise, even when you don't. It's okay if he thinks you have that power, that power to do what you cannot do._

_It makes him smile._

_And you'd do anything for that smile to last on his face._

_Sometimes, you guess, people are worth being told a lie to, because the truth is a harsh one, one that most people deserve to be harsh. But he deserves a fairy tale, something happy and something good. You know you won't be able to be much like a prince, and he'd certainly not be your princess or whatever, but if you can make him smile just a little longer, then …_

_You're more than happy to be alive._

- - -

It's night and my party had passed. He hasn't shown up and I'm not surprised. A little disappointed, maybe.

I hear a soft noise near my newly reconstructed window. I roll out my bed, sleep filling my eyes.

"Kid, open that window now. I'm not gonna stand here all night long."

And with that the sleep is gone and I almost smash my window open.

"Piccolo!" The name leaves my lips like he's the only star in the darkest night.

He smiles a bit, that weird smile of his.

"You forgot to tell me when the party started, kid," he ruffles my hair with one hand. "Seems like I'm late."

I laugh.

"I'm ten years old now; you don't have to call me a kid anymore."

"You'll always be a kid to me, Gohan," his half-smile grows a bit wider, "so better get used to it."

I just smile back happily. Staying a kid forever in at least someone's eyes actually doesn't sound that bad.

"So, you want your present?" He asks it as if he expects me to say 'no.'

"You got me a present?!" I beam.

"Isn't that a human tradition at someone's birthday?" He tries to look annoyed with me but he's not doing such a good job. Or maybe I'm just too happy to describe anything as annoyed.

My heart beats a thousand times faster and I actually jump up for a while. He smiles at my enthusiasm, saying a 'I guess that's a 'yes' then' so casually it makes me want to laugh, but I don't because mum and dad would wake up.

I think mum would die from a heart attack if she saw Piccolo talking to me in my bedroom at this hour. Mum and her weird thoughts. "What's my present?" I ask innocently.

"Come, I'll show you."

He takes me up to the roof, where he sits down. I sit down next to him, shivering a bit from the cold. I slowly move closer, and for the first time since I can remember, he allows me to come close. I rest my head against his arm softly, and he doesn't protest.

I guess he lets me do what I want because it's my birthday. I guess that fact just made me love my birthday even more.

"Where's my present?" I ask again, softly.

"I'll give you another sunrise," Piccolo told him. "I'll make it a really pretty one."

I smile my brightest smile.

"Thank you."

I still believe Piccolo made that sunrise we saw, with its breathtaking orange colours and, most of all, the sun.

No. Most of all, Piccolo. Because I think that was why I was smiling the most.

- - -

"Do you think we can beat him?"

"Perhaps."

"But do you believe we can?"

"Do you believe?"

"I… Don't know."

"Kid, don't worry too much. Things always work out alright."

"I'm scared Piccolo. Dad says he can't beat this Cell."

"Don't be scared."

"If I can't be scared of death, Piccolo… what can I be scared of?"

"You shouldn't fear anything."

"Why not? Why can't I fear?"

"Because the sun will rise."

It puts a hopeful smile on my face.

"Because you will make it rise?"

"Of course I'll make it rise, kid. I always do."

"Yeah. You always do."

The world seems to be less frightening with that fact confirmed.

- - -

_You aren't scared of dying. You aren't scared of the awful pain that might await you in battle. You aren't even scared of being defeated, humiliated, left behind, beaten, laughed at, looked down upon._

_You're just scared of losing. You're just scared that fragile thing that made life worthwhile will slip through your fingers and you'll be left alone, trying to grasp something that you will never reach again._

_And when that moron of a Goku, that pathetic excuse of a father, sends his own son to battle, the fear comes rushing over your heart, your whole being so overwhelming it makes you want to scream._

_The only thing that leaves you mouth, however, is a pathetically soft, 'Gohan.' _

_But he heard it and turns around, looking at you and smiles._

"_Hey, Piccolo," he says, as if he isn't going to walk towards his own death._

_You manage a soft nod._

"_The sun will come up."_

_But you don't want it to rise if he's not there to look at it. _

- - -

When I open my battered eye the light stings and it takes me a while before I remember what I did. It takes me some time to remember I defeated Cell, that I've lost my father, and that the sun rose just like it always did.

"Kid."

His voice sounds like he hasn't talked for years.

"Piccolo!" I try to sit upwards, but everything hurts. I fall back onto my back helplessly.

"You okay?" It sounds soft, like he doesn't even realise he just asked me that.

The fact that he's worried, or sad, or something else that would make him some sort of vulnerable, makes my stomach turn at how bad things must be. My mind was still a little blank. As if things were just a bad dream.

"I'm fine," I smile. "Are you?"

He snorts.

"I'm not the one who fought that maniac all by myself," he retorts.

I smile softly. We stay silent for a while, because I don't have the strength to speak and Piccolo seemingly doesn't want to say anything.

"Uhm… Kid…" He starts.

The feeling that he's going to say something he'd dub as way too emotional makes its way to my stomach and I look up, hopefully encouraging him to speak further.

He doesn't, however. Instead, he looks away and folds his arms tighter over his chest, as if he hates me for being there.

"I wasn't alone," I tell him then.

He looks up at me with something like shock in his face, but it turns to his usual neutral look, as he snarls: "Yes, you were. There was no one who could help you. I'm not going to stand here and pretend like I was actually of some use to you."

I can see how much he hates himself for not being able to help. He hates himself for not being able to jump in before I could me and give it all just so I'd be safe. He hates that he thinks he has to let me go now.

I hate him for not listening to me.

"No. You might've not protected me by giving your life for me this time," I argue back, "but you were there, just like you always are. And… and you made the sun rise."

He keeps silent for a while.

"Kid," he starts. "You know that I don't actually make the s…"

He stops then, smiles that half-smile and nods, as if to say that I'm right.

"When I stood there thinking I was going to lose I could hear my father helping me. But… even more so… I saw the sun rise," my eyes dart away under his intense look, it still makes me shiver. "And that was when I knew I wouldn't let that thing hurt you, and that I should make you proud, because you're a good person and you deserve that and –"

I don't even notice the tears streaming down my face and my desperate shouting until he lays his hand on top of my head and ruffles my hair.

"I'm proud of you, you know that."

He almost makes it sound like he's accusing me. It makes me smile a bit.

"Dad said he was proud of me too," I whisper.

"Of course he is."

I know he'll hate me for it, but I cling onto his waist like he's the only thing that'll keep me from vanishing into this big world and bury my face in his stomach. To my surprise he doesn't push me away.

"Then why did he leave?" I sniff.

"Sometimes people just leave, Gohan, it has nothing to do with you," he makes it sound like he doesn't care, but I know better.

"But you won't leave… right?" I don't even care how pathetic that makes me sound.

"I'll make the sun rise every morning," he mutters softly. "Don't forget that."

And I never did.

- - -

_You couldn't protect him. The thought turns your stomach, sickens you so much you wish you could just throw up or cry or scream or hurt someone really badly. You couldn't protect him. That thought is not going to leave anymore. _

_Forever you're going to hate yourself for the moment you lost the power to make him feel safe. _

_He stood there all alone and all you did was watch. How you wished you could be an irrational fool and rush in, just to be killed, but it wouldn't have mattered because at least you could've told yourself he needed your help._

_But he didn't._

_He could handle the world all by himself just fine._

_It makes you feel more worthless than you ever remember being. It makes you crazy, rips your apart fibre by fibre. Slowly, aching, everlasting._

_The pain is never going to stop anymore. _

_But his smile at least makes you forget the pain when he tells you he wasn't alone. _

- - -

And just like that the years pass. I grew up, became a professor, made my mum happy. Met a girl. Got married. Had a daughter. Life is passing me by with its ups and its down, with its smiles and its tears, with its happiness, its sadness.

But no matter how bad it gets, the sun always rises and I never forget the one who made it rise.

He still means the world to me. Even though I think he forgets that sometimes.

- - -

_Fine. He always believed you were the one that made the sun rise, so you'll believe now that you're not useless and you can still make him smile._

_You'll believe, because sometimes all it takes to be truly happy is just to believe. And you trust Gohan enough to not crush your own little lie, your fragile truth._

_As long as he doesn't, you'll be happy. That's far more than you ever dreamt of._

- - -

It's my birthday, and strangely enough the world is at peace. No aliens who want someone dead, no androids that want to play a deadly game, no random evil people who just kill because it makes them laugh, no maniacs, no pain, no destruction.

I still can't shake the feeling that sooner or later something bad will happen, though.

There's a knock on my (well, our, since Videl wouldn't like it if I treated her like she didn't exist) bedroom window, and it's so soft Videl just sleeps through it. I stand up softly and walk towards it. I don't even have to open it to know who it is.

"Hey, kid," he says softly to not wake the sleeping girl.

It's some sort of arrangement that this is our moment, and neither Videl nor Pan, no matter how much I love them, are allowed to know of it or to be a part of it. Sometimes it makes me feel like a selfish bastard. Most of the time I plain don't care.

"Piccolo," I give him my brightest smile.

Life caught up with me too fast and I don't see him as often as I'd want to anymore.

"Come, let's close that window before that girl of yours sneezes herself to death by tomorrow."

I chuckle and fly outside, keeping my ki low so Videl won't shoot up in anguish. A moment later we both sit on the rooftop.

"How's Pan doing?" Piccolo asks after a while.

I'm patient enough at this age to wait for my present.

"She's doing great," I answer smiling brightly. "She keeps asking me when Uncle Piccolo is coming to babysit, though."

He gives me a look between touched, amused, and downright horrified. I just continue smiling until he looks away.

"I told you it was just that once."

We both know it isn't true since he has come far more than once. Even Videl is starting to like him instead of just tolerate him because she knows how important it is to me.

"Look, your present."

Whenever the sky fills itself with the deep orange hues, the reds, the yellows, I feel like a kid again, and it makes me want to cry and smile at the same time. The sun peeks over the edge of the world and we both look at it in silence.

Somehow, while staring at the sky in childish awe, my hand slides over Piccolo's, which rests next to him. He doesn't react or protest so I figure it's okay for my hand to be there. I don't think there are moments in my life when I feel more at home and at peace than this.

I wish the sunrise would last forever, that the sky would stay deep orange and that I could sit like this forever.

My grip on his hand tightens, almost like how a newborn child clings to its parent.

"It's still beautiful," I whisper in awe.

He grunts, something that I'll take as a confirmation. I feel like the place where my hand is touching his is burning up.

My heart skips a few beats at that thought and then the sunrise becomes the dawn. The orange starts fading into blue.

And even though I'm grown up now and I no longer believe in silly lies and almighty people, even though I know the sun rises just because it does and not because Piccolo makes it rise for me, I ignore it all.

Sometimes all it takes to be truly happy is being irrational and believing.

As certain as the sun will rise tomorrow, I will always love Piccolo and he'll always be there for me. And that's enough for me to know, enough for me to make this life beautiful. I'll believe Piccolo makes the sun rise, because I always did.

With my hand still on his and the sky stretching before us endlessly, I smile.

He softly smiles back.

- - -

Nope guys, I don't own DBZ. And it's also NOT meant to be slash-ish, or whatever. Just friends, okay? Well, feel free to search more behind it, but it's not my intention. XD And yes, I made them hold hands, not even really hold hands, because I CAN. You ain't gonna tell me you never held hands with someone you're not in love with, right? XD I won't believe you anyway.

**Also. Super, super, suuuuuuuper much thanks to _Chaney_ for BETA-ing this story. Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to read this without the effort she put into editting this. She's absolutely the most awesome BETA ever. I owe you my eternal gratitude, Chaney, seriously! -gives chocolate and cookies-**

Hm. Other than that... Well, first DBZ fanfic. Piccolo is awesome. He is! Bow down and worship him! -evil laugh- Uhm, right. Please review?

-- Jazy


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